Tennischick's Articles (103)

OK I tried, I really did. I tried to tell myself that it was no big deal, just a bit of fun, that I really should just lighten to eff up and not make such a big deal of it. And while that is generally good advice that I generally take, I find that I am still galled by the spectacle of Pat Cash and Mats Wilander playing… Continue

I couldn’t believe the amount of crap Stanislas Wawrinka got just for taking a bathroom-break (bad pun intended). Even experienced commentators started talking about his “gamesmanship” for taking a bathroom break in the middle of the tense fifth set. I almost expected one of them to run out onto the… Continue

Today’s tennis fashion offers a myriad of choices, ranging from inexperienced but earnest tennis pros seduced by the glamor implied in having their names attached to a clothing line, to established professionals who actually know what they are doing. The result is a particularly confusing… Continue

As a would-be fashionista, I find that I have been developing a growing appreciation of good tennis fashion. For me the best tennis outfits are put out by designers who understand how to combine form and
function, who are talented enough to fuse performance with style, who are creative enough to develop… Continue

I’ve been perplexed by the scathing criticism that John McEnroe has received for stating that the women’s tennis season is too long. To be fair, what he allegedly said was, “There should be less events for women. You need an actual meltdown on court or someone to quit the game altogether… Continue

I can’t believe I’m not going to the US Open this year. What was I thinking? Why did I allow my secretary to book me solid with patients on September 7th, which is normally the day I reserve for recovery and recuperation from a Labor Day weekend of tennis? Can I really, truly make it through the year… Continue

...But what made me take the email more seriously was when I got to the end where my friend closed by pointing out an apparent inconsistency in my position. How come, she wrote, you say that you’re a fan of Big Babe Tennis and yet you have so little good to say about one of the biggest babes… Continue

I didn’t start the rumor. I’m only repeating it. I read it today on dlisted.com which copied it from a gossip blog called “Crazy Days and Nights” that specializes in sending out vaguely-worded clues about celebrity hook-ups. A… Continue

...I watched the match yesterday between Kim Clijsters and Maria Sharapova. Other than big-serving, this was the single strategy each woman deployed against the other. Pull her wide and the point was over. Wide to the forehand and then wide to the backhand. Over and over. Rinse and repeat. And it worked.… Continue

...My point is that I have never struggled like this with transitions before. I think that factor may be the improved amount of depth on both sides of the tour. It’s become exceedingly hard to pick clear leaders and dominators. Sharapova could just as easily have been beaten by Anastasia… Continue

I try not to get excited about Ana Ivanovic. It’s not that I don’t enjoy watching her play, because I do. It’s just that I don’t like investing myself emotionally in players about whom I am uncertain of their level of commitment to tennis. Consequently I have avoided becoming emotionally invested in Ana… Continue

...I am totally impressed with (and have recently written about) the level of diversity that currently exists on the WTA tour. Of course this makes for some embarrassing moments of tennis commentary as ESPN talking heads struggle to pronounce some players’ names and often only know as much about them as can… Continue

Some have wondered what exactly qualifies her for this role. My response is that in the same way that I suspect that Richard and Oracene learned a thing or two from their years of paying others to coach their daughters, then…Continue

Like many others, I’ve been following the scandalized outpourings regarding the
allegations against Lance Armstrong and some of his team-mates, when it occurred
to me that we seem to be going through a spate of shame and scandal involving a… Continue

Zheng Jie and Maria Kirilenko were probably among the prettiest entrants in the doubles draw in San Diego last week. Not that this
has anything to do with the awesomeness of their tennis talent, but I would have expected that the sports media would at least have picked up on the sex appeal angle and… Continue

I’m probably going to lose the handful of Polish fans who currently read this blog. And that would be too bad, but I would also get it. After all, ever since Wojtek Fibak famously made it to the quarterfinals of the 1980 French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open, Poland has not seen as high a tennis achiever as… Continue

I apologize for the question mark. It’s meant to indicate that I am not sure. After all, we’ve been here before, haven’t we? And no, I am not being biyatchy. Truth is, I have always had a thing for Davide Nalbandian. And I myself can’t believe that this is the first time I’m actually writing about…

A friend of mine recently remarked that for all my talk of supporting tennis, he has never seen me consciously make the decision to support tennis sponsors. Sure I buy tennis rackets (and I have a bone to pick with Steffi and Andre about that piece of crap called “the Youtek Three Star” that Head put out with their endorsement -- but I digress).… Continue

...In my history of being obsessed with everything tennis, Scoville Jenkins remains the only tennis player for whom I flew all the way to Costa Rica. Now granted I also went to see that beautiful country and have my first experience of sliding down tree tops. But I also went to see Scoville. The event was the Copa Del Café. He didn’t win. But I witnessed… Continue